Minnesota fraudsters fined millions of dollars — but report finds many don't pay and get released anyway

A man who was fined nearly $2 million for scamming the Medicare system was released from probation despite paying nearly none of the fine, and he's not the only one.

An investigative report found that many Minnesota fraudsters who are fined millions of dollars fail to pay back any significant amount but are allowed to get off probation.

'For the person who just doesn't care and is trying to get away with wrongdoing, I think we need stronger medicine.'

In 2023, a man named Tommie Johnson Sr. pleaded guilty to stealing health care funds through a personal care assistance scheme.

Prosecutors wanted to put Johnson in prison for 45 months, but a judge put him on probation instead so he could work to pay off the $1.7 million restitution.

For three years, Johnson paid the bare minimum of monthly payments, often $25 to $50 a month. Despite paying a tiny fraction of what he owed, Johnson was allowed to get off probation by Hennepin County District Court Judge Emily Froehle.

"The record at the time of sentencing reflects that it was unrealistic and not anticipated that [Johnson] would pay the full amount of the joint and some restitution," Froehle wrote in the order.

The case is not unusual, according to investigators with KMSP-TV.

The investigation found that convicted fraudsters paid only about $2.4 million out of $13.3 million in combined restitution ordered through the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at the office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (DFL). That comes to only about 18.8%.

Many of the fraudsters had their probation discharged despite paying little or nothing toward their restitution.

A spokesperson for the attorney general's office said the office is seeking to strengthen laws to make the fines stick.

RELATED: Top scammer of 'Feeding Our Future' fraud in Minnesota NAILED with painful sentence

"We will continue to urge courts to use all the tools at their disposal to ensure the fraudsters we convict pay back as much of the money they stole as possible," the spokesperson claimed.

"For the person who just doesn't care and is trying to get away with wrongdoing, I think we need stronger medicine for people like that," Ellison said.

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